Flexible pouches have widely replaced rigid containers, such as metal cans, for storing a variety of beverages and snacks. The primary reasons for this are that flexible pouches are lighter, take up less packaging space, and typically cost less to manufacture. Also, from an environmental perspective, flexible pouches take up less landfill space since they compress very easily when empty.
There are generally two forms of flexible pouches. The first type is a pillow or flat-shaped pouch. Pillow pouches are typically made from either one sheet of laminated material folded along one edge and sealed along the remaining edges, or two separate sheets of laminated material that are sealed along all four sides.
The second type of pouch is a stand-up or gusseted pouch. Stand-up pouches are generally manufactured using three sheets of laminated material that are arranged and sealed so as to form legs or supports. Typically, stand-up pouches are formed from two generally rectangular sheets of flexible laminated material, joined to a third generally oval-shaped sheet. The rectangular sheets serve as the front and back sides and the oval-shaped sheet serves as the bottom for the pouch.
Sealing of both types of bags is generally performed through a heat-sealing process. A fitment may also be incorporated into the pouch for ease of dispensing. Alternately, a straw may be manually inserted into the pouch to permit dispensing. One example of a conventional stand-up flexible pouch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,743 to Larkin, et al.
As discussed above, the packaging of fluids and semi-solid products in stand-up pouches has greatly increased in recent years due to the light weight of these packages and their inherent flexibility as compared with their rigid counterpart packages. Many children who take lunches to school generally have beverages that are contained in flexible stand-up pouches.
While there are various stand-up pouches known in the prior art, these conventional pouches are often unstable when resting on a supporting surface. For example, when resting on a table the limited stability of these pouches makes them highly prone to wobbling or toppling when subjected to even a minimal degree of external contact. This can be a significant problem when the packages contain beverages for children.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved flexible package which provides increased stability.